Luke Perry dies after massive stroke

Actor Luke Perry, known for his roles as Dylan McKay on the original “Beverly Hills 90201” and as Fred Andrews, Archie’s father, on “Riverdale,” passed away after suffering a massive stroke on March 4 at the age of 52.

Coy Luther Perry III was born in rural Mansfield, Ohio in 1966 and was raised in nearby Fredericktown, where he attended a high school that “had classes on giving birth to cows and driving tractors,” said Perry in an interview with People Magazine.

After graduating from high school, Perry moved to Los Angeles with dreams of being the next Paul Newman. He was rejected 216 times before landing his first role on the soap opera “Loving.”

Perry rose to fame during his portrayal of the rebellious archetypal bad-boy Dylan McKay on the nineties TV Drama “Beverly Hills, 90210,” a character which got Perry labeled as “People Magazine’s” TV’s hottest heartbreaker. In fact, Perry was so popular at this time that 21 people were injured in a crowd of more than 8,000 people rushing towards him on stage in South Fla., according to The Washington Post.

“I don’t know why it happened. I don’t even sing,” Perry told The Washington Post in an interview about the incident.

Perry returned to the small screen after landing the role of Fred Andrews on the hit CW show “Riverdale.”

Cole Sprouse, who portrays Jughead Jones on “Riverdale,” spoke about how the cast is handling the loss during an interview of “The Late Late Show” with James Corden.

“Luke was one of those guys that I think would much rather have us laughing and telling stories about his life than lamenting it, but he was a good man…he was one of the guys that you never heard a bad word said about him ever in Hollywood,” Sprouse said.

Other cast members have been expressing their love for the late actor on social media. KJ Apa, who portrayed his son Archie, posted a candid photo of him on Instagram, with the caption, “Rest in Love bro.”